Wickes buys top TV slot

NORTHAMPTON: Advertisers engaged in a last-minute scramble to secure slots for the commercial break at the end of the first televised leaders' debate.

Wickes, Confused.com, and the Daily Mail, paid about £40 000 each for the slots according to the Daily Telegraph.

Demand for the three 30-second advertising slots at the end of the programme was so high ITV increased its prices by 25% compared to an ordinary weeknight.

Luke Carmichael, of advertising agency Mindshare, said: "We have had a lot of last-minute demand for the slots: it has been very competitive. Normally, the slots at the end of a programme are consider 'inferior', but ITV has classified these as 'premium' due to high demand."

ITV was prevented from showing advertising during the 90-minute debate, which was expected to draw up to 20 million viewers although early indications suggest that less than half this number tuned in.

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